Stencil printing machine



8, 1969 M. VA$ILANTONE 3,427,964

STENCIL PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1967 Sheet 4 of 2 INVENTOI? MICHAEL VAS/LA/VTO/VE WWW? ATT mus-r5 Feb. 18, 1969 Filed Feb. 16, 1967 M. VASILANTONE STENCIL PRINTING MACHINE Sheet 2 912 F/GJ uvvsmrae MICHAEL VAS/L AN 7' ONE BYWa/%w&

ATT NEYS United States Patent 3,427,964 STENCIL PRINTING MACHINE Michael Vasilantone, 401 John St., Roselle, NJ. 07203 Filed Feb. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 616,711 US. Cl. 101-115 4 Claims Int. Cl. B41f /04; B411 13/02 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stencil printing machine which has a stretcher assembly which is pivotal vertically and a horizontally rotatable platen assembly having a plurality of baseboards one of which is positioned beneath said stretcher assembly to tauten a shirt and prepare it for printing. A horizontally rotatable silk screen assembly has a plurality of silk screen stencils which are individually pivotal vertically for selective positioning and emplacement on the tautened shirt to achieve a successive multicolored printing operation.

This invention relates to a stencil printing machine and specifically to a stencil printing machine in which a rotatable multiscreen assembly allows successive positioning and emplacement of individually pivotable silk screens over a selected platen on a rotatable multiplaten assembly.

A principal objective of the invention is to provide an improved printing machine to accomplish printing in a quick and easy manner.

An important objective of the invention is to provide a printing machine having a movable multiscreen assembly which allows convenient positioning and emplacement of a selected individual silk screen.

Another important objective of the invention is to provide a printing machine having a movable multiplaten assembly for receiving textile material which allows facile positioning of a selected platen and textile.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a printing machine having tautening assembly at a stationary operators position which is pivotally disposed for ready emplacement over a selected platen and textile.

A yet further objective of the invention is to provide cooperating assemblies which permit all printing operations to take place at a single particular location and simultaneously permit textile transfer to and from the apparatus at different locations removed therefrom.

These and other important objectives and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood upon a reading of the following specification, taken in view of the attached drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a detailed perspective view of a single baseboard with a shirt positioned thereon in phantom; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 10 indicates the printing assembly of this invention. The assembly is supported by a base 12 which in turn supports a vertical, non-rotatable shaft 14.

A baseboard assembly 16 is rotatably mounted at its center on the lower end of the shaft 14. The baseboard assembly extends outwardly and upwardly from its central mounting on the shaft to form four baseboards 18 spaced 90 apart. The outer end of each baseboard extends beyond the forward end of base 12 and is shaped at 20- and 22 to conform with the shoulder sections and neck section of a shirt S. Reinforcing webs 23 are provided to strengthon the baseboard at critical points. The baseboard 18 is generally horizontal and has a raised printing platen 24 secured to the baseboard upper surface and defined by a vertical side wall periphery 26. The configurations of the baseboard readily facilitate the positioning of shirt S with the shirt back panel 28 overlying the elements 20 and 22. The forward portion 30 of the periphery 26 provides a convenient line to which the yoke seam 32 may be oriented in parallel relationship. Other panels of flexible sheet material may be oriented in other convenient ways depending on their makeup and design.

A framework 34 is secured by hinges 36 to a rearwardly extending support 38 which is itself rigidlly secured to the shaft 14. The free or forward end of the framework carries a stretcher assembly 40 which fits over the platen 24 of a properly located baseboard 18. The stretching operating and the construction of the assembly 40 is similar to that disclosed in US. Patent 3,244,093 issued to applicant on Apr. 5, 1966.

A balance bar 42 having a plurality of weights 44 on its outermost end is secured to the hinged end of the framework 34 in order to preselect the ideal amount of force necessary to pivot said framework toward or away from the platen 24. A pair of register tabs 43 are secured to the forward cross brace 45 in order to make possible the printing of more than one color (wet on wet) in accurate register. Since the framework is necessary to the printing operation and since it is fixed against horizontal movement about the shaft 14, the location of its free end fixes a working area for the printing operator. The working baseboard is that baseboard which is properly located in the working area by the printer. It is easily seen then that while the printer remains in the working area to operate on the textile on the working baseboard, the other non-working baseboards may be attended by one or more lessskilled personnel for the purpose of removing the printed product and replacing it with fresh textile.

A silk screen assembly 46 is rotatably mounted on the upper portion of the shaft 14. The assembly is comprised of a central rotatable hub 48 and four silk screen frames 50. Each silk screen frame supports a silk screen stencil as is well known in the art and is itself supported by an arm 52 which is pivotally secured to the hub 48 at connection 49. The screen frame is rigidly secured to the free end of the arm 52 but is offset downwardly therefrom by a bracket '54. A coil spring 56 is secured at one end to the hub 48 and at the other end to the arm 52 at a point adjacent its free end. The bias of the spring 56 maintains the arm and attached frame in a normal, upwardly inclined position until such time as the printer pivots it downwardly into a generally horizontal working position in the stretcher assembly 40 against the tautened textile.

In operation, the shirt S is slipped over one of the baseboards 18 with the shirt back panel overlying and draped over the platen 24 as seen in FIGURE 2. The printer rotates the baseboard into the working area with one hand and maintains the stretcher assembly in an elevated position until the baseboard is directly beneath the said stretcher assembly. At that time, the assembly 40 is lowered into stretching engagement with the textile on the baseboard platen 24. Having thus fixed his work for the printing operation, the printer will now manually rotate the silk screen assembly 46 until a particular silk screen stencil 60 is generally above it. The stencil is then pivoted downwardly about the connection 49 into its working position and the required impressions are made. The stencil is then quickly and easily lifted and rotated out of the way back to its normal upwardly inclined position and the same operation is repeated with the subsequent stencils. Each stencil is located in accurate, predetermined register on the shirt because of the register guides 43 on the assembly 40. Of course, while the printer is employing successive stenoils to achieve the multi-color printing operation on the tautened shirt, secondary personnel, removed from the working area, may emplace other shirts on the non-working baseboards 18. When the printing operation is complete, the last used stencil is raised to its inclined position. The printer then raises stretcher assembly 40 out of stretching engagement with the textile and platen 24 of the working baseboard 18 and rotates the baseboard assembly 46 to position a new working baseboard thereunder.

It is to be noted that the operation is exemplary of weton-wet printing in that it does not require any drying between color applications on the textile.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed effective and eflicient embodiments of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiments, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for printing insignia on a flexible material comprising:

a base,

a shaft rigidly secured to said base and perpendicular thereto,

material receiving means rotatably mounted on said shaft for rotation about said shaft to a selected position,

said material receiving means having a plurality of platens extending upwardly therefrom for receiving said material thereon,

tautening means pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to said shaft for movement toward and away from said material receiving means in said selected position for tautening said material over said platen,

silk screen supporting means rotatably mounted on said shaft for carrying a silk screen, said silk screen supporting means pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to said shaft for movement from a position oblique to the shaft to a position normal to the shaft wherein said silk screen is emplaced into printing engagement on said tautened material.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein said silk screen supporting means comprises a hub horizontally rotatably mounted on said shaft, a plurality of silk screen supporting frames extending radially outwardly and upwardly from said hub and pivotally mounted with respect thereto, and biasing means for maintaining said screens out of printing engagement with said material, whereby said bias may be overcome to position a selected one of said silk screens into printing engagement with said tautened material.

3. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein said biasing means comprises a spring connected at one end to said hub and at the other end to said silk screen supporting frame.

4. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein said tautening means includes means for accurately registering each of said silk screens on said tautened material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,029,544 6/1912 Horvath 101-115 2,485,289 10/1949 Jane 101--115 2,613,595 10/1952 Weldon 101-115 3,244,093 4/ 1966 Vasilantone 101--126 2,690,118 9/1954 Schwartz et al. 101123 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 149,718 8/ 1950 Australia.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

CLIFFORD D. CROWDER, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 101126 

